On July 13, join Asia Society and the U.S. Department of State Foreign Press for conversations between 20 journalists from across the Asia-Pacific region and leaders in academia, law, and the Bay Area diplomatic community. Topics will range from U.S.-Asia-Pacific relations and international trade & technology, to opportunities and challenges for the rapidly growing Southeast Asia. Each topic will feature a 30 minute briefing from and conversation between experts, followed by a 20 minute on-the-record Q&A session with the global correspondents. This is a unique opportunity to hear questions from 20 journalists from all over the world, including Ghana, India, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Vietnam, and Hungary.

If press are interested in this event, email Asia Society Northern California Center at [email protected].

Agenda

9:30 a.m.       Event Registration and Networking

10:00 a.m.     Briefing on US-China Technologic Competition and Its Global Implication + Journalist Q&A

10:50 a.m.     Break

11:00 a.m.     Briefing on Opportunities and Challenges for Rapidly Growing Southeast Asia + Journalist Q&A

12:00 p.m.     Public Event Concludes 

Speakers

Mark Cohen heads the Asia IP Project at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology at Berkeley Law School. He is also responsible for teaching international trade law and research and writing on IP issues. Previously, Cohen was Senior Counsel, China in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, after serving as a visiting professor at Fordham Law School (2011-2012). Prior to that time, he served in such functions as: Director, International Intellectual Property at Microsoft Corporation; Of Counsel to Jones Day’s Beijing office; and Senior Intellectual Property Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (2004-2008). In total, he has over 30 years private, public sector, in-house and academic experience in China and transition economies, with a focus on technology trade and intellectual property.

Mr. Cohen has taught and lectured at numerous universities in the United States, Asia and Europe. Amongst other honors, he was the recipient of the US Chamber of Commerce’s “IP Champion” award in 2014. Mr. Cohen holds a JD degree from Columbia University (1984), an MA from the University of Wisconsin in Chinese Language and Literature (1979) and a BA from the State University of New York at Albany in Chinese Studies (1977).

Anja Manuel is the Executive Director, Aspen Security Forum. Former diplomat, author, and advisor on foreign policy, she is also Co-Founder and Partner along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm that helps US companies navigate international markets.

Anja is the author of the critically acclaimed This Brave New World: India, China and the United States, published by Simon and Schuster in 2016, and numerous articles and papers. She is also the Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum -- a premier bi-partisan forum on foreign policy in the U.S. From 2005-2007, she served as an official at the U.S. Department of State, as Special Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, responsible for Asia policy. 

A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Stanford University, Manuel also lectured and was a research affiliate at Stanford University from 2009-2019, teaching courses on US Foreign Policy in Asia and Technology Policy. Anja currently serves on two corporate boards: Ripple Labs Inc., a leading blockchain payments company, and Overseas Shipping Group, Inc., a NYSE-listed transportation company. Anja also serves as a Member of the Defense Policy Board for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Scot Marciel is Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, affiliated with the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. Previously, he was a 2020-22 Visiting Scholar and Visiting Practitioner Fellow on Southeast Asia at APARC.  A retired diplomat, Mr. Marciel served as U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar from March 2016 through May 2020, leading a mission of 500 employees during the difficult Rohingya crisis and a challenging time for both Myanmar’s democratic transition and the United States-Myanmar relationship.  Prior to serving in Myanmar, Ambassador Marciel served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department, where he oversaw U.S. relations with Southeast Asia.

From 2010 to 2013, Scot Marciel served as U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. Prior to that, he served concurrently as the first U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southeast Asia from 2007 to 2010.

Mr. Marciel is a career diplomat with 35 years of experience in Asia and around the world.  In addition to the assignments noted above, he has served at U.S. missions in Turkey, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Brazil and the Philippines.  At the State Department in Washington, he served as Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia, Director of the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia, and Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs.  He also was Deputy Director of the Office of Monetary Affairs in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

Consul General of Viet Nam Hoang Anh Tuan is currently Consul General of Viet Nam Consulate General in San Francisco, California, the United States of America, for a 3-year term of service, starting from November 28th, 2022. Prior to assuming this position, Ambassador Tuan served various positions such as Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Political-Security Community and the Ambassador of Viet Nam to Indonesia and concurrently the non-resident Ambassador of Viet Nam to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

Ambassador Tuan carries with him over 31 years of experience, serving various appointments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam both as a diplomat and a researcher. One of such appointments was the Minister Counselor position at the Embassy of Viet Nam in Washington D.C. As a researcher, Dr Tuan has worked at various think-tanks around the world, including Norway, Denmark, Singapore and Sweden. He has published extensively on Viet Nam’s foreign policy; politics and security in Southeast Asia; U.S. and China’s policy towards East and Southeast Asia as well as major power relationship, particularly the Sino-US relations.

Ambassador Tuan obtained his PhD in International Relations and MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, USA under the Ford Foundation and Fulbright scholarships respectively.